Maturing as a Hunter

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Two things- here in exile in Minnesota I am forced to use a slug gun for deer. I have heard all kinds of stories about the stopping power of a 12 ga. slug and have seen 1 or 2 times where it worked. My own experience still leaves me with out a good answer. I have hit a good sized white tail, quartering towards me with a barnes expander (any body evr here of the X-bullet?). The slug went in the near side just behind the shoulder and a little high and came to rest under the inside skin on the far side hind quarter. Almost end to end and side to side, and aside from being a little high, a pretty good shot. At about 30 yards or less, the buck turned and walked away from me and were it not for the hair floating in the air and the unmistakable "boom-whack" you could not tell he was hit. Supposedly he absorbed well over 1500 ft pds of enegy and he walked another 30 yds before laying down in the corn rows. I have a friend who claims to have put a 12 ga. slug through both shoulders of a deer (he found the slug) and he ran for a quarter mile before stopping.

Item two- I watched some one take a goat with a 7mm Mag once with a high shot to the back (just below the tenderloin) in mid jump over a fence. Yes they will do that... The shot only broke a rib if I recall and the goat piled up like the sky fell on him. No run, no kick, no twitch. The same guy put a 7mm mag 130 grain slug into the hind quarters of a big mulie, a "bad" shot. The buck went down imediately, got a follow up for mercy, but he was down

My point, if there is one, some bullet placements produce dramatic results. Others do not but they are no less deadly. Perhaps we shouldnt try and contribute dramatic kills or suppposed failures to any one or two factors?

I guess I'm gald to hear that the folks with big Magnums arent talking about shooting at 300+ yards. I cant hit consistently beyond 150 so I guess my "anemic antequated" 250-3000 savage is just right fo me. Of course, in its day it was the original "short magnum" and stories abounded of lightning like kills at phenominal ranges....except for the ones that got away carrying an 87 grain slug....? And so the 300 Savage was born and the debate rages on..... :?

 

[Guest]

Hello guys ! If anyone`s interested: In Norway (and I think in Sweden and Finland to) Hunting regulations has put an end to much of the discussion on what caliber is suficient for what game.
The regulations tells us what minimum power is allowed for different game, combines with a certain bullet weight.
(Bullet weight, and a certain amount of ft-lbs at 100 meters)

For the smallest of small game one can use .22LR, for the bigger forest birds and the fox one has to use .22Hornet and up.

The European Roe Deer is the smallest "big game" , in Norway at about 40 - 50 pounds weight.
According to the regulations one can hunt the Roe Deer with a rifle from 222 Remington and up.
During the late autumn driven hunts one can also use a shotgun. Some therefore use combination guns; 12 gauge shotgun / 222 rifle, or bigger.
The same bullet weight and energy also applies for rifle hunting beever and lynx, the large European Cat.

Red Deer, European Caribou, Moose, Wolf and Beer is another league.
According to regulations one has to use a 260 Reminton or 6,5 X 55, and You hawe to use minimum a 140 g bullet.

According to this, I am not alowed to hunt Red Deer using My 270 Winchester and 130 g bullets. I have to step up to 140 g.
Even thoug my 270 with 130 g bullets could generate more power than a 5,5 X 55 with 140 g bullets !

 

[recoil junky]

Just to give you all a bit of back ground about me, here's a list of rifles I hunt with and reload for.
.222 Rem
.223 Rem bothRem 788's
.243 Win in Rem 700 VLS (yeah I know it's heavy but it doubles as a yote and pdog gun.
7mm Remington mag in Rem. 700 Classic. (also goes pdog hunting)
30-06 AI Custom Sporter in 1917 Remington Enfield (can you see a trend here :roll: )
300 RUM in Rem. Sendero SFII
35 Whelen in Rem. 700BDL

Most of which have never seen a factory round I'm proud to say.

I've killed deer with all but the 300 and the 243. (it's brand new and has yet to draw blood) I've killed elk with the 06, 7 mag, 300RUM and the 35 Whelen.

I am of the many who want to kill an animal as quickly and humanly as possible. I've been with guys who have a "XXX wizz bang magnum" only to see them blow legs off until the poor critter can't move anymore and it's just laying there waiting for the coop de gracie. I've also seen guys use to small of a rifle or cheap store-bought ammo and have ended up helping track a critter for 4-5 miles only to loose the blood trail , then loose the animal. Had a guy stop at the house last hunting season and tell me "If'n you spot wounded a 2 point muley buck on yer place let me know. We wounded one but I think we only split the hairs on his back" All the while wafting me with the odor of stale yeast, hops and barley. This guy had no buisness handling firearms let alone hunting or driving. I did keep an eye out for the deer but never did spot it.

I agree bigger is not always better. An ethical hunter should always take the time to get to know his/her particular rifle. This can only be done by shooting. Whether it's at the range shooting paper or shooting varmints, it's all good practice. To me it's just another reason to reload your own ammunition. What better way to harvest an animal than with high quality hand-crafted ammo that you painstakingly made yourself, custom taylored for your rifle.

Now don't get me wrong, reloading isn't for everybody, but if you take on the resposibilty of hunting you should at least have done your homework and spent the time and money to make sure that you know your limitations and are confident in your abilities.

I will rant no more. Well for a while anyway. :roll:

RJ